stocking order for mixed seahorse tank

[Durbelethwen]

I am setting up an erectus seahorse tank (30 gallons). For a cleaning crew I am thinking various snails and a sea star. But I am a little concerned about the order in which I should stock my other fish and in relation to when I introduce the seahorses, since I read that fish should be stocked from timid to aggressive (relatively). I am planning on putting in a very small algae blenny, a firefish, a one or a pair of neon gobies. Also a factor is the fact that some if not all of the above animals will not have been tank bred (though the seahorses will be tank bred) and thus will have accompanying germs which may die off if I put them in the tank first but would they be relatively or at least more brazen then the seahorses because they were in the tank first. One reason why I want to get the neon gobies is to act as sort of a live in doctor and thus decrease the possible trouble with disease.

 

[mtc1966]

your going to want to do some more research on s/h before getting started defiantly cant have all those fish . if its your 1st s/h tank no fish they are enough of a challenge.

 

[rayjay]

Your 30g tank is recommended for a pair of erectus seahorses but not the other fish with them as well.
The neons won't be any kind of doctor for the seahorses. Seahorse diseases are mostly bacterial and MAY introduce pathogen exposure to the seahorses that could be worse than any they might clean from the seahorses. Also, seahorses tend to be stressed by cleaner shrimp so I suspect the same would apply for the neons.
If you are hoping the algae blenny will take care of algae outbreaks, IMO, there should be none for it to feed on as the tank needs to be kept clean so algae isn't present. Seahorse tanks need to be cleaner than reef tanks IMO.
Firefish in my experience, are jumpers, especially in the smaller tanks like a 30g.
I would recommend setting up ONLY for the seahorses at this time and see how it goes for a year or so.
If something goes wrong, you won't know if it is something the seahorses already had, or something they caught from the other tank mates.
I can't help on snails and such as I don't use anything in any of my tanks, seahorse or reef.

 

[TamiW]

Neon gobies and seahorses are fine. Unlike cleaner shrimp, neons mostly ignore seahorses. Firefish are also good companions, but yes, they are jumpers. Algae blenny is though, a no go.

Sea stars/starfish are generally not part of the cleaning crew and most won't survive in that small of an aquarium. The ones that will, like your chocolate chip stars, are carnivorous and will eat slow moving animals. What is a seahorse? Yup, slow moving.

Personally, I would go with the neon gobies, and get captive bred individuals as well. ORA has been breeding them forever and a day so you should have no problem finding them.

I'm of the mind that most seahorse species pairs really need about 20 gallons, not 30. I'm probably in the minority and bigger of course is better, but I think a pair of neon gobies and a pair of H. erectus would do swimmingly in a 30 gallon as long as you kept up with maintenance.

I would also do it a bit different than RayJay, start with the non-seahorse fish, get the tank stabilized and running for at least 6 months, and then get yourself the seahorses. That way, any new tank "oops", outbreaks, etc . . . are already settled before you get the seahorses, which are going to be more sensitive than other fish.

And do remember, you still need to quarantine your fish - even the seahorses, but especially any wild caught ones.